Aerial tramway.



' and rails at one end of the line.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

JOHN N. BELLVVALD, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

AERIAL TRAMWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,557, dated March 10, 1903.

Application filed February 10, 1902. Serial No. 93,417. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN N. 'BELLWALD, a subject of the Grand Duke of Luxemburg, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Tramways; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in aerial tramways.

The objects of the invention are to provide means for automatically regulating the tension of the track-cable according to the weight of the load thereon; to provide a tower-sad dle which is readily adjustable to the proper inclination; to provide a carriage having mechanism for gripping the track cable, which is actuated directly by the weight of the bucket; to provide means for permitting the bucket to always maintaina perpendicular position without strain on the carriage and without liability of throwing either of the trackwheels out of engagement with the track-cable to provide means for supporting the carriage against lateral movement while the bucket is being loaded and unloaded, and, finally, to generally simplify and improve the construction and increase the practical efi'iciency of transportation systems of this character.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a general View, in side elevation, of an aerial tramway embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar View with parts broken away, showing, on an enlarged scale, the means at the ends of the line for adjusting the tension of the track-cable. Fig. 3 shows a side and an end view of the tower-saddle. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the carriage and the guide Fig. 5 is a section through the rails on line 5 5 of Fig. 4, showing the carriage in front elevation. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 4:, and Figs.

7 and 8 are detail views showing modifications in the gripping means.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 1 and 2 represent the end stations or terminals of the line; 3, the track-cable; 4, the traction-cable; 5, the supporting-towers, and 6 the traveling carriage, which conveys the load.

The present disclosure shows the application of the invention to tramways of that kind employing a traction-cable for propelling the carriage; but some features of the invention are applicable with equal advantage to tramway systems in which the carriages travel solely by gravity. It has been customary heretofore to anchor the track-cables of tramway systems of this kind at one end or station and to keep the same in tension by the action of a counterweight at the other end or station, all the lines being laid out on the principle that the tension of the track-cable remains the same, but that the position of the cable or its deflection varies according to the load placed on it; but this principle is wrong, because the tension of the cable is not kept uniform by the counterweight, and particularly is this the case in inclined lines where the'detlection is often very great, according to the variability of the load, and where the tension is always greatest at the highest point of the line. When the line is empty, the deflection is at its minimum and the cable is often lifted off its tower-saddles, while when the line is working to its fullest capacity the deflection increases proportionately with the load, and the strain upon the towers and upon the cable between its several support-s is unequally distributed,thus resultingin undue wear and tear upon the system.

In order to obviate the above-noted objections, I provide means for automaticallyregu lating the tension of the track-cable according to the Weight of the load thereon, such means comprising a series of graduated counterweights 7, mounted one above the other at proper distances apart on seats 8 in a suitable support 9, the lowermost and smallest weight being connected to the adjacent end of the cable, so that as the load upon the cable increases the upward movement of the end of the cable will successively bring the several counterweights into action, the number of,

Weights brought into action corresponding to the increase of the load, whereby the cable is kept stretched to the desired tautness and undue deflection thereof and unequal strain on the towers prevented. When the load on the cable decreases, the end of the cable is drawn downward and the counterweights one by one disconnected until the normal tension is reached, which is maintained by the counterweight or counterweights which remain acting on the cable. The counterweights, while preferably used at both ends of the track-cable, may be used at one end only, according to the conditions to be met; but in either case they will be so proportioned as to regulate the tension of the cable according to the weight of the load thereon, by means of which, it will be readily understood, overstrain and undue wear upon the cable and towers will be avoided. By the use of this antomatic variable-tension regulator I am enabled to use lower towers than heretofore and to obviate the necessity of constructing expensive anchorages on inclined lines.

The saddles 10, which support the trackcable 3 on the towers 5, are set on a slope corresponding to the inclination of the line and are usually fixed to asupporting-timber,which is out according to the incline. The degree of inclination being a matter hard to determine, it frequently occurs that the saddles are improperly set, resulting in a number of known objections. To remedy this difficulty, I pivotally mount the saddle, as shown at 11, and provide the same with a series of apertures 12 to receive a fastening, securing thereto a counterweight 13, which is readily adjnstable to set the saddle to conform to the proper inclination of the cable. This construction also allows the saddle to yield to the weight of the carriage passing over it to adjust itself to the cable in order to prevent the cable from snapping back and hammering on said saddle.

The carriage 6 has the usual wheels 14 to traverse the cable 3 and is provided with a downwardly-extending arm 15, acting as a fixed gripping-jaw. To this arm is pivoted,

as by means of a pin 16, a bell-crank lever 17,

which is provided at one end with a movable jaw 18 and at the other end with a spherical head 19. The jaw 18 is adapted to clamp the traction-cable 4; against the jaw 15 to connect the carriage with said cable, and the ball or head 19 fits Within a socket 20 on the upper end of a hanger 21, which is supported directly from the lever 17 and carries the bucket or receptacle 22, which receives the load. By this construction it will be seen that the weight of the bucket or the bucket and the load will be directly transmitted to the lever 17 to cause the jaw 18 to be moved into engagement with the jaw 15 and to clamp the cable 4 firmly, thereby connecting the carriage to travel with said cable, and that as the ball or head 19 is free to turn within the socket 20 the carriage is adapted to readily accommodate itself to variations in the track-cable 3 without interferin g with the bucket 22, which is thus adapted to always maintain a perpendicular position without liability of throwing the wheels 14 out of engagement with said track-cable. Any other form of swivel or universal joint connection may be used in place of the ball and socket.

The jaw 18 is automatically thrown out of engagement with the cable 4 when the carriage reaches the end of the line where the load is to be dumped through the medium of guide-rollers 23, journaled upon the hanger 21, which rollers are adapted to run upon suitably curved or inclined guide-bars 24, which support and elevate the bucket and its load, and thereby cause the retraction of the lever 17, by which the jaw 18 is forced away from the cable 4. The carriage is supported at this time upon a track 25, upon which the wheels 14. run from the cable 1, said track being supported by a bracket 26, hanging pend ent from a beam 27. Extending parallel with the beam 27 is a second beam 28, and secured to these two beams are guide-bars 29. These bars are adapted to be engaged by a horizontal roller 30, journaled upon the top of the carriage 6, whereby the carriage is supported during the operation of attaching and detaching the same to and from the cable 4. to prevent said carriage from tipping laterally. The weight of the bucket again closes the jaw against the cable when the carriage runs off the guide bars or rails.

Figs. 7 and 8 show two modifications in the gripping means, one being adapted to admit the cable laterally and the other to admit it from below, as will be readily'understood. In either form the gripping mechanism is advantageous in that it is adapted to grip cables of the difierent sizes in common use without adjustment in changing from one to the other.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, mode of operation, and advantages of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what -I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an aerial tramway, the combination of fixed towers, saddles pivotally mounted upon the towers, a track-cable passing over the saddles, which automatically incline to conform to the deflections of the cable, means for normally maintaining the saddles at prescribed angles to the towers and automatically adjusting them in contact with the cable as the latter changes its position under vari- ICC ations in the load, and means acting directly on the cable and wholly independent of the towers for limiting the deflection of the cable according to the load thereon, substantially as described.

2. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a tower, and a track-cable, of a saddle pivoted to the tower and supporting the cable, and a counterweight regulating the inclination of the saddle, substantially as set forth.

3. In an aerial tramway, the combination with a tower, and a track-cable, of a saddle pivoted to the tower and supporting the cable, and a counterweight adjustably connected to and regulatlng the inclination of the saddle, substantially as set forth.

4. In an aerial tramway, the combination of a carriage provided with a fixed jaw, of an intermediately-pivoted lever having at one end a jaw to clamp the traction-cable against said fixed jaw, and a bucket supporting hanger having a universal-joint connection with the other end of said lever, substantially as specified.

5. In an aerial tramway, the combination with the track-cable and the traction-cable; of a carriage provided with wheels to traverse the track-cable, a bucket supported by the carriage, grippers actuated automatically by the weight of the bucket to grip the tractioncable, means for releasing the grippers, spaced horizontal rails, and a horizontal roller upon the carriage adapted to come between and bear upon said rails to steady the carriage While the grippers are being thrown into and out of engagement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit- HGSSGS.

JOHN N. BELLWALD. Witnesses:

NEvIN J. Loos, E. S. PARKINSON. 

